


The Hero Gotham Needs

by CloakedSparrow



Series: Collected Bat-Family Stories [7]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman: Gotham Knights (Comics), DCU (Comics), Detective Comics (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Hood: Lost Days, Robin (Comics), Under the Red Hood
Genre: Bat Family, Canon-Typical Behavior, Canonical Character Death, Character Study, Dark, Gen, Heroism, Hopeful Ending, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Jason Todd Has Issues, Jason Todd is Robin, No Dialogue, No Romance, No Sex, No Smut, One Shot, POV Tim Drake, Stalker Tim Drake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:34:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23829169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CloakedSparrow/pseuds/CloakedSparrow
Summary: Tim considers the new Robin as he watches him.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Series: Collected Bat-Family Stories [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/734523
Comments: 27
Kudos: 311





	The Hero Gotham Needs

The new Robin hit harder, Tim noticed. 

Others didn’t. Many still didn’t believe in Robin. Some didn’t even believe in the Batman. Those who did didn’t seem to realize it was a different Boy Wonder fighting beside the Dark Knight. But Tim knew. And he noticed. 

At first it was a little scary, seeing the force the new Boy Wonder put behind every blow. Seeing the true vitriol behind every taunt he spit out. Seeing the power just barely kept in check when he fought. But Batman believed in this new hero, as did Nightwing. Tim would withhold judgment until he’d seen what the new Robin was like. He would try to figure out what he was about.

So he watched the older boy. He did so quietly. He did so in secret. He did so when the older boy went out as Robin and when he attended high society functions as Bruce Wayne’s adopted son. Jason Todd never knew Tim Drake was watching him. He probably didn’t even know Tim Drake existed. 

But Tim quickly began to know him. 

He got it, then. The unforgiving blows and remorseless show of force. He understood that the older boy hit harder not just because he was big and strong. Not because he was out of control or trying to prove something. Not because he didn’t care if he hurt someone or because he wanted to. Not because he was used to street fights. 

Jason Todd was angry. He was enraged by the injustice he saw out on the streets every night. He was furious at the neglect he saw on the same streets during the day. 

That anger wasn’t to be feared because it wasn’t born from malice or perversion. It wasn’t because the new Robin enjoyed hurting people. It wasn’t because he was unstable. 

It was because the new Robin cared. 

He cared about the unseen victims of everyday crimes. He cared about the people who most looked down upon. He cared about each of the poor people who were often overlooked by high society. He cared about the innocents or less-than-innocent who didn’t have much choice in their circumstances. He cared about the nameless victims who fell between the cracks for the busy cops. He cared about Gotham, just as much as Batman did, perhaps even more. 

He wasn’t idealistic like Dick Grayson generally was. He didn’t make everything brighter and happier. Jason Todd saw the ugly in everything. He saw it in the corruption in the police department and the local government. He saw it in the rise of drugs and violence on the streets. He saw it in the inaction of those who had the ability to improve things for those below them but couldn’t be bothered to. 

He fought anyway. 

He fought with everything he had. 

That was why he hit so hard. 

Seeing that, even as young as he was, Tim realized he was witnessing the birth of a new kind of hero. One who didn’t try to take the high road. One who was willing to match any criminal’s brutality or ruthlessness in his efforts of saving others. One who didn’t care about public opinion or getting along with the Commissioner. One who was willing to meet -and possibly cross- any barrier thrown in his way as he took on the Batman’s quest to protect Gotham. One who truly would give everything and anything to save his city. 

Tim didn’t know if there was a word for what Jason Todd was. He was equally awe inspiring and terrifying. But he also made Tim feel better than he had since he was too little to understand all that was wrong in Gotham. He made him feel like it was truly going to be okay, no matter how dark or ugly it became. Because someone would still care. Someone would still be willing to fight for it. 

Tim knew the word then. Jason Todd _was_ a hero. He was simply a different type of hero than the world was used to. A less naive version. One who was darker and tougher than Superman, Flash, or even Batman. One who was perfectly suited to match the dark streets of Gotham and the tough times they were facing. 

Naturally, he never pointed any of this out. If Jason was going to do his part to save Gotham, then Tim would do his part to protect Jason. That meant not letting on that he knew for a fact Batman and Robin were real. That meant not drawing attention to the fact that there was a new hero fighting on the streets. That meant not giving any indication that he knew who the city’s fabled protectors were, even when he encountered them at charity events or fancy parties his parents dragged him to when they were in town. 

Tim still proudly declared Robin his favorite hero. He still cherished his Robin plush. He still scoured the local news for any word on the young vigilante. He was still inspired by him. He was still amazed by him. 

Even when Robin grew darker still… Even when Batman questioned his methods… Even when he fell… Even when he returned twisted and damaged… Even when he lashed out against his ‘replacement’… Even when he frightened his successor… 

Jason remained a hero in Tim’s eyes. He remained a source of inspiration. He remained a source of awe.

While others watched the Red Hood with concern, fear, or trepidation, Tim watched with hope, confidence, and patience. He did so quietly. He did so in secret. Eventually, the older boy began to heal and others began to see what Tim had known all along.

Jason Todd was a hero. 

One Gotham had created. Slowly. Carefully. Deliberately. 

Because he was the hero it needed.


End file.
